Jesus' first parable in Matthew 13 (NASB 1995):
1 That day Jesus went out of the house and was sitting by the sea.
2 And large crowds gathered to Him, so He got into a boat and sat down, and the whole crowd was standing on the beach.
3 And He spoke many things to them in parables, saying, "Behold, the sower went out to sow;
4 and as he sowed, some seeds fell beside the road, and the birds came and ate them up.
5 "Others fell on the rocky places, where they did not have much soil; and immediately they sprang up, because they had no depth of soil.
6 "But when the sun had risen, they were scorched; and because they had no root, they withered away.
7 "Others fell among the thorns, and the thorns came up and choked them out.
8 "And others fell on the good soil and *yielded a crop, some a hundredfold, some sixty, and some thirty.
Jesus' point is that THE GROUND decides how the seed will do. The ground is a metaphor for our hearts--so if the Word is to take root in our hearts and bear fruit, we have to do one thing: make sure our hearts are receptive, and receive the word with eagerness and interest.
The first piece of ground on which the Sower sows is the "wayside;" it's not ready to receive the Word at all, and is completely inattentive; the second is the "rocky;" it's ready and eager, but there are things that prevent the Word from taking deep root; the third has "other seeds" that compete with the growth of the Word, and once the Word's seed grows, those things grow up with it and choke it out.
Jesus is telling us that WE determine how the ground of our hearts respond to Him and His truth. In other words, you can decide whether or not the Word becomes a forgotten thing, or guides and directs your life forever.
To conclude, Jesus issues this cryptic statement:
"He who has ears to hear, let him hear..." What He's saying is, "Listen up! You're the one who decides how your spiritual life goes! Guard your hearts! Keep them ready!"
It's good advice, since God holds us responsible for hearing Him.
1 That day Jesus went out of the house and was sitting by the sea.
2 And large crowds gathered to Him, so He got into a boat and sat down, and the whole crowd was standing on the beach.
3 And He spoke many things to them in parables, saying, "Behold, the sower went out to sow;
4 and as he sowed, some seeds fell beside the road, and the birds came and ate them up.
5 "Others fell on the rocky places, where they did not have much soil; and immediately they sprang up, because they had no depth of soil.
6 "But when the sun had risen, they were scorched; and because they had no root, they withered away.
7 "Others fell among the thorns, and the thorns came up and choked them out.
8 "And others fell on the good soil and *yielded a crop, some a hundredfold, some sixty, and some thirty.
Jesus' point is that THE GROUND decides how the seed will do. The ground is a metaphor for our hearts--so if the Word is to take root in our hearts and bear fruit, we have to do one thing: make sure our hearts are receptive, and receive the word with eagerness and interest.
The first piece of ground on which the Sower sows is the "wayside;" it's not ready to receive the Word at all, and is completely inattentive; the second is the "rocky;" it's ready and eager, but there are things that prevent the Word from taking deep root; the third has "other seeds" that compete with the growth of the Word, and once the Word's seed grows, those things grow up with it and choke it out.
Jesus is telling us that WE determine how the ground of our hearts respond to Him and His truth. In other words, you can decide whether or not the Word becomes a forgotten thing, or guides and directs your life forever.
To conclude, Jesus issues this cryptic statement:
"He who has ears to hear, let him hear..." What He's saying is, "Listen up! You're the one who decides how your spiritual life goes! Guard your hearts! Keep them ready!"
It's good advice, since God holds us responsible for hearing Him.
